Enduring understandings are statements summarizing important ideas and core processes

that are central to a discipline. This knowledge has value outside the classroom and is
something students will draw from again and again in their lives. These statements synthesize
what students should understand—not just know or do—as a result of studying a particular
content area. Enduring understandings are transferable and teach students to apply their
knowledge to their lives rather than being forgettable facts and figures. They are big ideas that
can be applied in a variety of ways to solve problems.

Essential questions require students to think deeply and process what they have learned.
They cannot be answered with finality in a single lesson or a brief sentence, and definitely not
with a simple yes or no—and that’s the point. Their aim is to stimulate thought, to provoke
inquiry, and to spark more questions, including thoughtful student questions, not just pat
answers. They are provocative and generative. They stimulate excitement in our students and
engage them in the content they are learning. In this way our students begin to drive their own
learning in a way that doesn’t stop when they leave school at the end of they day. Don’t be
surprised if your student comes home with thoughtful questions for you!